


take away my first-place prize

by enmity



Category: Persona 2, Persona Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Parent-Child Relationship, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 23:01:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11428071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enmity/pseuds/enmity
Summary: Junko’s presence is tall and impossibly imposing. (Jun and his mother, circa 1987.)





	take away my first-place prize

Jun is five. The school is lively with chatter and noise and footsteps of parents with children in tow, fathers’ hands protectively resting on small shoulders or mothers’ fingers intertwined with the tiny ones of daughters or sons.

The cherry blossom trees lining the streets leading up to elementary school are in full bloom. Jun’s footsteps are small, and slow, but steady for his age. The pink petals tear and crumble beneath his rubber soles, dirtied with earth and the city’s dust. One of them lands on his nose and Jun nearly sneezes, but he holds himself together long enough not to disturb the woman beside him. His mother pulls him along by the hand with a viselike grip that makes Jun think of ragdolls — of the plush toys he remembers watching the girls in his kindergarten class play with, once upon a time — something stitched together, with empty glass eyes and stuffing instead of heart.

Junko’s presence is tall and impossibly imposing. Her hair is the same deep black as his; the sky is clear, and bright, but the dark of her bangs reminds Jun of storm clouds, of warnings of what was sure to come (and if he bristles at the resurfacing memory, then he doesn’t show it).

She lets go of him the moment they pass the gate. Jun looks up, more out of reflex than anything, but all he sees are the unfamiliar faces of fathers and mothers who are not his and children who are not him, shuffling and walking past and not paying him any mind. His left hand stings with delayed ache.

He doesn’t cry.

**Author's Note:**

> 23/06/18: revisited this fanfic because of an unpleasant reason but i'm glad to say i'm still pretty fond of this.


End file.
